Buckeye Creek

Site Name

Primary: Buckeye Creek
Secondary: Martha
Secondary: Moore Creek

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Commodity

Primary: Gold
Secondary: Tungsten
Secondary: Antimony
Secondary: Tin
Secondary: REE
Secondary: Lead
Secondary: Copper
Secondary: Silver

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Location

State: Alaska
District: Fairbanks

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Land Status

Not available

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Holdings

Not available

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Workings

Not available

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Ownership

Not available

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Production

Not available

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Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:

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Physiography

Not available

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Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Placer Au-PGE

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Orebody

Not available

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Structure

Not available

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Alterations

Not available

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Rocks

Not available

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Ore: Arsenopyrite
Ore: Scheelite
Ore: Pyrrhotite
Ore: Pyrite
Ore: Monazite
Ore: Gold
Ore: Galena
Ore: Chalcopyrite
Ore: Cassiterite
Ore: Stibnite

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Comments

Comment (Production): Production Notes = From 1905 through 1921, production for the Richardson area was approximately 95,000 ounces of gold and 24,000 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Since 1980, mining in the district has produced an additional 10,000 ounces of gold (Olson and others, 1985). Gold production for individual mines or sections of Buckeye Creek, Martha, and Moore Creek is not available.

Comment (Deposit): Model Name = Placer Au (Cox and Singer, 1986; model 39a)

Comment (Geology): Age = Quaternary

Comment (Reference): Primary Reference = Cobb and Eberlein, 1980

Comment (Workings): Workings / Exploration = Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson area in 1905. Mining initially occurred on the nearby Tenderfoot Creek and expanded to Buckeye Creek and associated tributaries. After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). Mining along Buckeye Creek has included open-cut and drifting methods (Ellsworth and Parker, 1911). Exploration work is continuing along the Buckeye Creek drainage. Preliminary work has identified a mineralized fracture trend in the Buckeye Creek drainage called the Buckeye Zone (F.L. Blystone, written communication, 1998). No other information regarding the Buckeye Zone is available.

Comment (Geology): Geologic Description = The Richardson area is characterized by gentle slopes and broad, alluvium-filled valleys (Prindle and Katz, 1913, p. 140). The area is unglaciated and largely overlain by windblown silt, sand, and loess, locally up to 50 meters thick (Foster and others, 1979). The bedrock in the region comprises greenschist to amphibolite facies schist, marble, and gneiss that have been intruded by various igneous bodies (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977, p. 29). The schist and marble are probably Paleozoic, and the gneiss has a probable protolith of Precambrian and Paleozoic sedimentary and igneous rocks (Weber and others, 1978). The intrusive bodies in the area range in composition from rhyolite to andesite. Fine-grained rhyolite containing quartz and feldspar phenocrysts is common throughout the area (Olson and others, 1985). At the nearby Democrat Lode (BD014), the rhyolite contains arsenopyrite, gold, and pyrite, and is albitic, clay, and sericite altered (R.J. Newberry, oral communication, 1998). Structurally, the Richardson region is cut by a northwest-trending fracture system termed the Richardson Lineament. The lineament appears to correspond with the distribution of the rhyolite and other intrusive bodies and placer gold deposits (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Also, the lineament tends to separate gneissic rocks to the northeast from schistose rocks to the southwest (Swainbank and others, 1984). ? At the headwaters of Buckeye Creek there is coarse-grained K-spar, quartz, and muscovite metagranite in contact with epidote and actinolite hornfels. At Hinkley Gulch there is a cut exposing epidote and hornblende gneiss. The gold fineness in pan concentrates from Hinkley Gulch averaged 670 (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977) and 693 (Metz and Hawkins,1981). Placer and churn-drill hole concentrates contain actinolite, arsenopyrite, biotite, cassiterite, chalcopyrite, dolomite, epidote, feldspar, fluorapatite, galena, garnet, gold, hornblende, ilmenite, magnetite, monazite, muscovite, quartz, pyrite, pyroxene, rutile, scheelite, sphene, stibnite, tourmaline, and zircon (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Glover (1920?) reported a range in gold fineness of 730 to 787 for Buckeye Creek. ? Placer gold was first discovered in the Richardson district in 1905. Mining initially occurred on the nearby Tenderfoot Creek (BD039) and soon expanded to Buckeye Creek and associated tributaries. After peak gold production in 1908, mining in the area declined (Olson and others, 1985). From 1905 through 1921, production in the Richardson district was approximately 95,000 ounces of gold and 24,000 ounces of silver (Bundtzen and Reger, 1977). Since 1980, the district has produced approximately 10,000 additional ounces of gold from intermittent mining (Olson and others, 1985).

Comment (Exploration): Status = Active?

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References

Reference (Deposit): Glover, A.E., 1950, Placer gold fineness: Alaska Territorial Department of Mines Miscellaneous Report 195-1, 38 p.

Reference (Deposit): Chapin, Theodore, 1914, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 592-J, p. 357-362.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., 1972, Metallic mineral resources map of the Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF-388, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Saunders, R.H., 1965, A geochemical investigation in the Richardson area, Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: Alaska Division of Mines and Minerals Geochemical Report 3, 11 p.

Reference (Deposit): Bundtzen, T.K., and Reger, R.D., 1977, The Richardson lineament-a structural control for gold deposits in the Richardson mining district, Alaska: Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys Geologic Report 55, 46 p.

Reference (Deposit): Metz, P.A., and Hawkins, D.B., 1981, A summary of gold fineness values from Alaska placer deposits: University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Mineral Industry Research Laboratory Report No. 45, 63 p.

Reference (Deposit): Swainbank, R.C., Burton, J.P., and Metz, P.A., 1984, Bedrock geology of the Richardson mining district, Alaska: University of Alaska, Mineral Industry Research Laboratory Open-File Report 84-2, 60 p., 8 maps, scale 1:40,000.

Reference (Deposit): Olson, B.G., Burton, J., Wolff, E.N., and Swainbank, R.D., 1985, Mining and minerals in the golden heart of Alaska: Fairbanks North Star Borough Publication, 80 p.

Reference (Deposit): Menzie, W.D., and Foster, H.L., 1979, Metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral resource potential in the Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-529D, 61 p., 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

Reference (Deposit): Cobb, E.H., and Eberlein, G.D., 1980, Summaries of data on and lists of references to metallic and selected nonmetallic mineral deposits in the Big Delta and Tanacross quadrangles, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 80-1086, 77 p.

Reference (Deposit): Prindle, L.M., and Katz, F.J., 1913, Detailed description of the Fairbanks district, in Prindle, L. M., A geologic reconnaissance of the Fairbanks quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 525, p. 59-152.

Reference (Deposit): Eberlein, G.D., Chapman, R.M., Foster, H.L., and Gassaway, J.S., 1977, Map and table describing known metalliferous and selected nonmetalliferous mineral deposits in central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 77-168-D, 132 p., 1 map, scale 1:1,000,000.

Reference (Deposit): Ellsworth, C.E., and Parker, G.L., 1911, Placer mining in the Yukon-Tanana region: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 480, 325 p.

Reference (Deposit): Weber, F.R., Foster, H.L., Keith, T.E.C., Dusel-Bacon, C., 1978, Preliminary geologic map of the Big Delta quadrangle, Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 78-529A, 1 sheet, scale 1:250,000.

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